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VM Trends: West End Om

Earlier this year, Lululemon (Vancouver, British Columbia) debuted its European brand outpost on London’s famed Regent Street. The store serves as an experiential community zone aimed to engage social participation from area residents and tourists alike.

Designed by London-based design agency Dalziel and Pow, the 6350-square-foot store covers two floors and features focal displays with active-pose mannequins that demonstrate the technical activewear’s mix-and-matchable styling, bold prints and craftsmanship. Natural finishes are complemented by biophilic accents that emphasize a Zen atmosphere.

“Across retail, brands are allocating more space to visual merchandising and creating stories that place their product in context,” says Laura Lutz, senior creative strategist, Dalziel and Pow. “Lululemon presents collections of product around mannequin stories supporting the customer journey, which is planned by activity. This is merged with [inclusion of] plants that create a sense of wellbeing, a value that is central to the brand.”

Customer service is at the forefront, with a concierge desk and store ambassadors on hand to guide shoppers through merchandise offerings and initiate in-store engagement. An interactive digital installation located on the ground floor near the fitting rooms detects movement from the yoga mat placed in front of it, transforming shoppers’ poses into playful, colorful animations. The upstairs serves as a dedicated community area, with a “flexi-space” for weekly yoga classes, on-the-fly practice and to kick back with other yogis and enjoy nutritional café treats.

Lutz explains that the store provides an outlet for the community to meet and take advantage of the brand’s services such as events, talks, gatherings, launches and classes “to physically connect with the brand and what it stands for, beyond the product.”